New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Monday, directed the Central Board of Secondary Education ( CBSE) to implement the Orissa High Court’s ruling, ordering amendments to the model consent form for generating the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) IDs, explicitly providing parents the option to refuse consent or opt out of the scheme.
This order reinforces parental choice and student privacy in the Aadhaar-linked scheme.
The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said it will also pass directions to the CBSE to address concerns regarding data protection and the voluntary nature of the scheme.
The Court was hearing a petition by Abhishek Baxi and others challenging the academic ID initiative.
Represented by senior advocate Indira Jaising, the petitioners submitted that although the government describes APAAR as voluntary, the scheme effectively makes it mandatory because the unique ID is linked to Aadhaar and is required for students to appear in examinations.
Serious concerns were raised over privacy, data storage, processing of children’s personal information, and compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
The Right to Education is a fundamental right and cannot be made conditional on obtaining Aadhaar or APAAR, Jaising told the Court.
She pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2019 Puttaswamy (right to privacy) judgment, which held that children cannot be compelled to get an Aadhaar number.
While acknowledging the bona fide aim of the scheme – creating a unique student ID for better tracking of academic records, teacher-student ratios, and curriculum implementation – the bench agreed to ensure it operates strictly as a voluntary initiative, as reported by Deccan Herald.
The idea behind APAAR is a welcome step for streamlining education data at the CBSE headquarters, CJI Kant remarked, but added that the board’s circulars remain subject to prevailing laws, including the DPDP Act.
In December 2025, the Orissa High Court had directed the Union Ministry of Education to amend the consent form within two months.
The existing form did not adequately reflect the voluntary nature of the scheme, as it lacked an upfront option to refuse consent and only allowed withdrawal after consent was given, it has ordered, while underscoring the heightened privacy protections for children under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court decided to extend its implementation across the country, since the Orissa High Court’s order was not challenged by the Centre.
“We will direct CBSE to implement this judgment on pan-India basis… We are directing CBSE to examine the issues as well,” CJI Kant said.
The APAAR scheme, launched on July 29, 2023, aims to provide every student with a lifelong unique digital academic identifier linked to Aadhaar for seamless maintenance of educational records.
In their petitions, the parents of four students and in a related case the father of a kindergarten student, contended that the scheme and associated circulars violated Articles 14, 19, 21 and 21A.
They sought safeguards such as informed revocable consent, meaningful opt-out options, and no adverse consequences like denial of exams or certificates for those who opt out.
